1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hand held, rotary driving tool for enabling rotation of wrenches and other hand tools. The tool comprises a handle giving the user leverage, and a working head which is either directly usable with square drives, screw driving blades, and the like, or which may have a receptacle for interchangeably accepting various tool driving shafts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Reversible ratcheting tools have long been desired by service and assembly mechanics and technicians for installing and removing threaded fasteners. For the convenience of the technician, it is important that a tool be quickly converted to include any desired driver, blade, socket, and so forth, since efficiency of assembly and disassembly is usually directly linked to the technician's compensation. For this reason, reversible tools have become quite popular.
A second desirable aspect is that a single driving tool enable interchangeable drivers, blades, sockets, and like accessories cooperating with the driver. These tools will be referred to hereinafter as working elements. This enables a single driving tool to perform many tasks. The driving tool can gain added capabilities as additional working elements are made available. This has economic repercussions, since each additional size or configuration requires only a working element of limited complexity and cost.
A number of prior art tools having reversibility and plural driving features will be reviewed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,654, issued to Frederick R. McFarland on Jan. 18, 1972, illustrates a two headed driver having reversibly rotating heads. Each head has a socket of different dimensions, so that each head provides two sizes of nut driving sockets. The entire tool will, therefore, provide four total different driving sockets. This tool is limited to the four sizes of sockets originally installed therein. Also, the tool is of complicated construction, requiring a number of internal springs and pawls.
A wrench having a removable socket is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,791, issued to John W. Thompson on Jul. 7, 1981. The wrench includes the usual bipositionable pawl, and has a lever and linkage for adjusting the driving direction. The present invention is unencumbered by such a pawl and linkage.
Other reversible tools incorporating internal pawls and requiring external manual levers for switching driving direction are seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,807,500, issued to Harvey M. Main on Feb. 28, 1989, 4,819,521, issued to John W. Lang on Apr. 11, 1989, 4,909,106, issued to William E. Foreman on Mar. 20, 1990, and 5,199,332, issued to Ronald W. Batten on Apr. 6, 1993.
Although lacking directional control, the ratchet wrench set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,720, issued to Kurt Srzanna on May 22, 1990, is of quite complex internal construction, incorporating many small individual parts. The present invention avoids such internal construction.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.